Police investigate apparent murder suicide in Nashville, Ark.

Prosecutor: Man was on parole for 1990s murder

Arkansas State Police and the Nashville Police Department are investigating an apparent murder suicide.
Arkansas State Police and the Nashville Police Department are investigating an apparent murder suicide.

A man who was on parole for a 1990s murder apparently killed his girlfriend overnight in Nashville, Ark., and then took his own life, officials say.

The bodies of Gracie Haddox, mid-40s, and her live-in boyfriend Gerald Martin, late 40s, were discovered by Haddox's 16-year-old child after opening a bedroom door early Friday, said Howard County Sheriff Brian McJunkins.

Haddox shared the house with three of her children, one grandchild and Martin.

One of the chilrdren, age 17, is slated to graduate tonight from an area high school, McJunkins said.

Martin, who is originally from Mineral Springs, Ark., had lived with Haddox for about two years.

Brian Chessir, prosecuting attorney for the Ninth Judicial District, said Martin had been paroled for a 1990s murder of a girlfriend in Texas.

Law enforcement officials did not disclose how Haddox died but said Martin was found hanging from a rope in a bedroom closet. 

The first call about the murder suicide came in about 7:35 a.m., McJunkins said.

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